Product handling system for cooling beds

ABSTRACT

A mechanism for maintaining hot rolled bars in spaced parallelism from the time they leave the carryover racks until deposited on grooved runoff rolls where the same spacing of the bars is maintained. The spacing on the runoff rolls will match the spacing of the notched knives that cut the bars.

Gilvar 1 Feb. 27, 1973 PRODUCT HANDLING SYSTEM FOR [56] References CitedCOOLING BEDS UNITED STATES PATENTS [75] Inventor: Martin Gilvar,Westboro, Mass.

584,658 6/1897 Aiken ..83/269 X [73] Assignee: Morgan ConstructionCompany, 711,947 10/1902 Dittbenner Worcester, Mass. 3,651,921 3/1972Hill ..l98/l05 X [22] Filed: April 1971 Primary Examiner-Andrew R.Juhasz [21] Appl. No.: 137,185 Attorney-Chittick, Pfund, Birch, Samuels& Gauthier 52 us. Cl. ..83/268, 83/280, 83/423, [57] ABSTRACT 83/440,83/620, [98/105 A mechanism for maintaining hot rolled bars in [51] Int.Cl. ..B26d 3/16, B65g 37/00 spaced parallelism from the time they leavethe car- [58] Field of Search ..83/268, 269, 276, 280, 444, ryover racksuntil deposited on grooved runoff rolls where the same spacing of thebars is maintained. The spacing on the runoff rolls will match thespacing of the notched knives that cut the bars.

17 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEU m2? m5 SHEET 1 [1F 4 Oh Nb wk. Owum INVENTOR.

MARTIN GILVAR XM v- ATTORNEYS PATENTEDFEBZYIQH 3 718,062

SHEET 2 0F 4 FIG.2

INVENTOR.

MARTIN GILVAR BY cainmf n 47M,

ATTORNEYS PATENTEUFEBZ? 191s sum 3 or 4 INVENTOR.

MARTIN GILVAR ATTORNEYS PATENTEUFEB27I975 3,718,062

SHEET t 0F 4 FIG.7

r INVENTOR. MARTIN ,GILVAR ATTORNEYS PRODUCT HANDLING SYSTEM FOR COOLINGBEDS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Bar mills finishing straight lengthsgenerally have an assembly table interposed between the cooling portionof the cooling bed and the table feeding the bar shear.

The assembly table allows batching of the product for subsequentmultiple shearing by providing a reservoir between the carryover racksand the runoff rolls. Bars are continuously deposited in the reservoiras they arrive one by one from the cooling bed. The collected bars areremoved from the reservoir in batches to be placed on the runoff rolls.

The assembly table of the prior art is typically a shuffle bar table ora flat top chain transfer. Both of these types of assembly tables allowthe collected bars to stack against one another in intimate contact.This type of assembly has two inherent disadvantages; first, cooling isimpeded because the bars instead of being separated as they were on thecarryover racks are now in contact; secondly, the batch of bars placedtogether on the runoff rolls must be reseparated at the bar shear intoan exact predetermined pattern when the cutting of the bars is to bedone by notched knives.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention discloses a system which allowseffective assembly of a batch of bars in reservoir fashion whilemaintaining the individual hot bars in spaced parallel relation prior totheir being placed on the runoff rolls. Since the bars are maintained inspaced relation in the reservoir, cooling is facilitated and this, inturn, may permit the use of a narrower carryover portion. Since thespacing of the bars in the reservoir portion is the same as the spacingof the bars when they are thereafter placed on the notched or groovedrunoff rolls, it is then unnecessary to reseparate the bars when theyarrive at the notched shear because the spacing of the bars on the rollsis the same as the spacing of the notches in the shear.

In carrying out the invention, a preferred form comprises three sets ofchains which are used to move the bars from the carryover rack to therunoff rolls. The bars on leaving the carryover racks are assembled inspaced parallel relation between aligned dogs on a first set of chains,hereinafter called the assembly chains. These chains advance step bystep to receive the succession of bars from the carryover racks. Thebars deposited on the assembly chains are counted and when the batchequals the number of bars that are to be positioned in one group on therunoff rolls, the assembly chains are quickly advanced a few spacesduring the dwell before the delivery of the next bar from the carryoverrack to carry the batch of bars to a position over a second set ofchains, hereinafter called the first lifting chains. These first liftingchains are interspersed between the assembly chains and extend wellbeyond the assembly chains toward the runoff rolls. With the bars on theassembly chains and over the first lifting chains, the latter are thenraised, picking up all of the first batch of bars from the assemblychains but continuing the bars in the same spaced parallel relationship.The batch of bars is then quickly advanced by the first lifting chainsto a reservoir area beyond the ends of the assembly chains. The firstlifting chains are then lowered to a position which is below the levelof a third set of chains, hereinafter called the second lifting chainsso that the spaced parallel bars are now supported by the second liftingchains in part of the reservoir area which is between the assemblychains and the runoff rolls. The second lifting chains are interspersedbetween the first lifting chains and between the runoff rolls. If therunoff rolls are clear, then the second lifting chains which extendbeyond the runoff rolls are raised above the level of the runoff rollsand advanced to bring the spaced parallel bars over the runoff rolls.The spacing of the grooves on the run-off rolls will match the spacingof the bars on the lifting chains so that when the second lifting chainsare lowered, the bars will be deposited in the same spaced relation inthe grooves of the runoff rolls.

With the bars now positioned on the runoff rolls, the rolls are advancedto drive the leading ends of the bars against a transversely extendingstop. This aligns the leading ends of the bars. The stop is thenwithdrawn and the bars are advanced a short further distance until theyare brought to a position over the notched shear blade. The forwardmovement of the bars is stopped and the shear actuated to cut the barsat the selected position. The bars may then be advanced on the runoffrolls a predetermined distance and the shear operated again to providethe required length of bars.

While the runoff rolls are being actuated to deliver the bars to theshear, a second batch of bars is being collected, first on the assemblychains, then carried by the first set of lifting chains to the reservoirarea where they are delivered to the second set of lifting chainspending removal of the first batch of bars from the runoff rolls. Assoon as the runoff rolls are cleared, the second batch of bars isdelivered to the grooved runoff rolls for subsequent shearing in thesame manner as the first batch.

If the runoff rolls are not clear or if there has been a delay at theshear so that the bars in the reservoir area on the second liftingchains cannot, for the time being, be delivered to the runoff rolls,then a next batch of bars may be carried from. the assembly chains bythe first lifting chains to occupy the rear part of the reservoir areaon the second lifting chains behind the-first batch of bars. While thesecond lifting chains cannot be unduly long because of space limitationin the mill, it is preferable that they be long enough to receive atleast two successive batches at the reservoir position to cope with anydelays downstream.

While the bars are deposited in the grooves on the runoff rolls by thesecond lifting chains according to their original spacing on theassembly chains and should thereafter travel in parallelism to theshears, it has been found that there is some tendency for the bars whichare rarely perfectly straight to deviate from their intended course inthe grooves of the rolls. Such deviation must be avoided if the bars areto enter the shear in alignment with the notched shear blades.Accordingly, horizontal apron plates positioned between the rolls havebeen included to support and direct the bars. These plates may be plainor may have parallel guideways that match the spacing of the bars on therolls to assist in guiding the bars as they move from one runoff roll tothe next.

A second form of the invention comprises only two sets of chains, theassembly chains and the lifting chains. In this arrangement, the singleset of lifting chains acts in the dual capacity of lifting the batch ofbars from the assembly chains, moving the bars forward to a reservoirposition and finally carrying the bars to the runoff rolls. This resultis accomplished by providing means for raising alternatively the nearsprockets of the lifting chains, the far sprockets of the liftingchains, or both sprockets simultaneously whereby l bars may be picked upfrom the assembly chains and carried to the reservoir area withoutinterfering with bars which may then be on the runoff rolls, (2) barsmay be moved from the reservoir position to the runoff rolls withoutpicking up bars then on the assembly chains, or (3) bars may be pickedup from the assembly chains and moved to the reservoir area while at thesame time bars at the reservoir area may be moved to the runoff rolls.

As will be illustrated and explained in the subsequent detaileddescription of the invention, the mechanism lends itself to the deliveryin parallel spaced condition of various diameter bars from the carryoverracks to the grooved runoff rolls without necessitating any changes inthe spacing of the dogs on the chains or changing the spacing of thegrooves in the runoff rolls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional elevation takenon the line 11 of FIG. 2 showing the carryover racks assembly andlifting chains and grooved rolls to which the bars are delivered.

FIG. 2 is a plan view to reduced scale of a portion of the runoff tableshown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevation of an assembly chain showing forillustrative purposes only three different sizes of bars carried by thechain dogs.

FIG. 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation showing the bars at the end of the runofftable against a stop prior to shearing.

FIG. 6 shows the ends of the spaced bars located in position above thenotched lowered shear blade.

FIG. 7 shows a modified form of the invention using only two chains.

FIG. 8 is a vertical section of one of the supporting and guiding apronstaken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIGS. 1 and2, carryover racks 2 are adapted to deliver in conventional fashion asuccession of bars 4. These bars will ordinarily be round but theinvention is not limited to the delivery of round bars. The bars 4 aredelivered to a plurality of parallel assembly chains 6 which, as shownin FIG. 2, are in substantial alignment with the runoff rolls 8. Theassembly chains 6 are carried by spaced pulleys or sprockets I0 and I2mounted on shafts 14 and 16. Sprocket 12 is the driving sprocket withthe shaft 16 rotated by conventional drive mechanism to advance thechains 6 step by step to receive the bars 4 as they come from thecarryover rack 2. Sprocket is an idler.

Each chain 6 has its upper course supported by a horizontal bar 18 (seeFIGS. 1 and 4) so that there will be no intermediate sag of the chainbetween the sprockets 10 and 12. The chain 6 illustrated in FIG. 3,

comprises a succession of alternating side links 20 and 22 between whichare centrally located aligned rollers 24 which rest on horizontal bar 18to facilitate chain movement thereon. Each of the links 20 and 22 has alaterally extending integral dog 26 and 28, respectively. The spacingbetween the dogs and rate of advance of chains 6 is such that the bars 4arriving from the carryover racks 2 are positioned in uniform spacedarrangement on the advancing chains 6.

FIG. 4 also shows spaced guides 27 and 29 which serve to prevent thechain 6 from tipping to one side or the other. The guides 27 and 29 areaffixed to chain supporting bar 18.

As can be seen in FIG. 3, small bars 4a may be deposited between eachpair of dogs, intermediate size bars 4b may be deposited between everyother pair of dogs, and larger size bars such as 40 may be depositedbetween every third pair of dogs of the chain. The object of thisincreased spacing as the bars get larger are (l) to be sure that thebars do not touch each other so that cooling will be unimpeded, and (2)to distribute heavy bars across the width of the shear knives so as notto overload the shear. When small bars 4a are being deposited on theassembly chains, the chain driving mechanism will be set to advance thechains step by step a distance of one dog. When intermediate size bars4b are being deposited on the assembly chains, the chains will beadvanced step by step a distance of two dogs and when larger bars 4c arebeing deposited on the chains, the step by step advance of the chainswill be a distance of three dogs.

Referring to FIG. 1, it will be noted that the runoff rolls 8 aregrooved and the spacing of these grooves is the same as the spacing ofthe dogs 26 and 28 shown in detail in FIG. 3.

Let it be assumed that small bars 40 are being delivered by the coolingbed 2 to chains 6 so that one bar is being deposited between each pairof adjacent dogs 26 and 28. Let it be further assumed that it is desiredto shear 10 bars 4a simultaneously as they may be delivered by therunoff rolls 8 to the shear. In such case, as soon as 10 bars 4a havebeen deposited side by side on chains 6, a counting device 30 of knownconstruction will impart the information to the driving mechanism ofshaft 16. This will result in an immediate advance of chains 6 for adistance of five or six dogs thereby to space the last bar of the batchof bars 4a from the first bar of the next batch about to be deliveredfrom the carryover racks 2. The advance of chains 6 occurs during thedwell period between successive deliveries of bars 4a, from thecarryover racks 2 so that there is no interruption in the operation ofthe carryover racks. The first batch of 10 bars on the assembly chains 6will now be located in the vicinity of the section indicated at A inFIG. I and will be located over the left hand part of the set of firstlifting chains 32 which are carried by idler sprockets 34 and drivingsprockets 36 mounted respectively on shafts 38 and 40. The liftingchains 32 are constructed in the same manner as chains 6 and asillustrated in detail in FIG. 3. Theupper course of each chain 32 issupported by a longitudinally extending horizontal bar 42 withassociated chain guides 41 and 43 (similar to guides 27 and 29 shown inFIG. 4). Bar 42 prevents sag of chain 32 and also maintains chain 32 ina normal position below the upper course of chain 6. The right hand endof bar 42 is supported by the upper arm 44 of a bell crank 46 which ispivoted at 48. The bell crank 46 may be caused to rotate throughoperation of a piston 50 and cylinder 52 utilizing air or fluidpressure.

The left hand end of bar 42 is supported by an inclined bearing surface54, a roller 56 and a corresponding inclined upper bearing surface 58which is integral with bar 42. Upon rotation of bell crank 46 clockwise,bar 42, while remaining horizontal, is moved diagonally upward to theright and in so moving raises chain 32 vertically above the level ofchain 6. In this way, chains 32 pick up the batch of bars located inarea A holding them in the same spaced parallel relation. As soon as the10 bars 4a now carried by chains 32 are clear of chains 6, the drivesprocket 36 is advanced to bring the bars to a reservoir positiongenerally designated at B at which position they will overlie the lefthand part of a second set of lifting chains 60. Chains 60 are carried byidler sprockets 62 and drive sprockets 64 mounted respectively on shafts66 and 68. A horizontal supporting bar 70 extends under the upper courseof each chain 60 to prevent sagging of the chain. Chain guides 69 and 71(similar to guides 27 and 29 shown in FIG. 4) are affixed to bar 70 (seeFIG. 2). The normal position of the upper course of chain 60 is abovechain 32 and lower than the uppermost surface of the runoff rolls 8. Assoon as the batch of bars has arrived on chains 32 at position B, thebell crank 46 is rotated counterclockwise lowering supporting bars 42and chains 32 to the normal inoperative positions below the level ofchains 60 whereby all of the special parallel bars 4a are now depositedbetween the dogs 26 and 28 of chains 60 in exactly the same spacedrelation they were in when originally deposited on the dogs of chains 6.

Each bar 70 is supported at its right hand end by a bell crank 72similar to bell crank 46 and the left hand end is supported by inclinedsurfaces and intermediate rollers (not shown) similar to parts 54, 56and 58 at the locations 74. Thus, when bell crank 72 is rotatedclockwise by the piston and cylinder 76, bar 70 will lift chain 60 up toa height above the top of the runoff rolls 8. As soon as this elevationis reached and assuming that there are no bars on the runoff rolls 8,the shaft 68 and related drive sprocket 64 are rotated clockwise toadvance chains 60 until the batch of bars are now in the position C overthe grooved runoff rolls 8. Advance of sprocket 64 is stopped at thispoint and bell crank 72 is rotated counterclockwise to lower the batchof bars onto the runoff rolls 8. Since the spacing of the grooves inrunoff rolls 8 is the same as the spacing of the dogs in chains 6, 32and 60, all of the bars 4a will be deposited on the runoff rolls in thesame parallel spaced arrangement that has been maintained during theirtransfer from positions A to B to C.

With the bars now positioned on the runoff rolls, the conventionaldriving mechanism of the rolls which comprises a shaft 78, beveled gears80 and 82 are then' operated to advance all of the bars a short distanceinto engagement with a stop 84 as shown in FIG. 5. This causes automaticalignment of the leading ends of the bars 40. The stop is then removedand the bars are advanced a short distance further to bring their endsover the lower shear blade 86 which is notched to agree with the spacingof the bars 4a on the runoff rolls. The advance of the bars is thenstopped and the upper shear blade 88 operated to cut the bars at theselected position.

After initial shearing of the bars, the rolls 8 may be advanced apredetermined distance to bring the leading ends of the bars againstanother stop set a predetermined distance down stream from the shearblades 86, 88. Then the shears may be again actuated to cut off apredetermined length of bars. This procedure is continued until therunoff rolls are clear of all bars.

As soon as the runoff rolls 8 are clear of the bars, the next batch ofbars which have been assembled in the manner previously described andwhich are resting temporarily at the reservoir position B are thenpicked up by the second set of lifting chains 60 and advanced to theirposition on runoff rolls 8. This second batch of bars is then sheared inthe same manner as the first batch. This succession of operationcontinues so long as bars are being delivered by the carryover racks 2.

When the chains 6, 32 and 60 are referred to as being carried bysprockets, it will be understood that this includes all equivalents suchas pulleys or drums or other devices capable of supporting and drivingthe continuous chains. The chains being supported on their upper coursesby bars 18, 42 and are sufficiently slack on their lower courses so thatthe upper courses may be raised without changing the longitudinalposition of the dogs. Some small angular rotation of the idler sprockets10, 34 and 62 occurs when the chains are raised. Thus, with the dogs ofthe assembly chains in alignment with the dogs of the first liftingchains and the dogs of the first lifting chains in alignment with thedogs of the second lifting chains, the spaced bars will maintain theirrelative positions throughout the several transfer operations from thecarryover racks to the grooved runoff rolls. The alignment of the dogson all of the overlapping chains is maintained by interrelated drivingmechanism for the shafts 16, 40, 68 and 78. The details are not shown asthey are conventional and well known by persons familiar with therolling mill art.

In order to support and direct the rods as they travel from one runoffroll to the next runoff roll and finally to the notched blades of theshear, aprons 90 may be provided as indicated in FIG. 2. These apronsoccupy most of the space between each chain 60 and the next runoff roll8. The apron unit as viewed in vertical section in FIG. 8 may betriangular in shape whereby three guide systems may be readily availableto accommodate small bars 4a, medium sized bars 4b, or large bars 4c, asmay be delivered to the assembly chains from the carryover racks.

The aprons 90 may be rotated on a shaft 92 through 120 steps to presentselectively in upper horizontal position the supporting surface 94 withguides 96 for small size bars 4a; or the surface 98 with guides 100 formedium sized bars 4b; or the surface 102 with guides 104 for large sizedbars 40. If preferred, guides 96, 100

or 104 may be omitted with reliance being placed sole- I 1y on thesupporting surface to carry the bars from the grooves of one runoff rollto the corresponding aligned grooves in the next runoff roll.

A modified form of the invention is shown in FIG. 7 in which there isonly one lifting chains as distinguished from the two lifting chainsshown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

In FIG. 7, the carryover racks 110 deliver the bars 4a, for example, tothe assembly chains 112 which move forward step by step in the samemanner as assembly chains 6 in FIGS. 1 and 2. Assembly chains 112 arecarried by idler sprockets 114 and driving sprockets 116. The sprocketsl 14 and 116 are mounted on shafts 118 and 120.

The lifting chain 122 runs from idler sprocket 124 to driving sprocket126. The shafts 128 and 130 of these sprockets are mounted on bellcranks 132 and 134 pivoted at 136 and 138. Means is provided for liftingsimultaneously the bell cranks 132 that support shaft 128 and othermeans for simultaneously lifting the bell cranks 134 that support shaft130.

It will be noted that the upper course of each lifting chain 122 in itslowermost horizontal position is a substantial distance below the uppercourse of assembly chain 112 and below the top of runoff roll 140. Thenormal lowermost position of shafts 128 and 130 is such that sprockets124 can be raised sufficiently for lifting chains 122 to pick up acollected batch of bars on assembly chain 112 without having theuppermost portion of the dogs on chains 122 being above the top ofrunoff roll 140. In other words, even though there may be a batch ofbars on runoff rolls 140, it is possible for the lifting chains 122 tobe raised at their left hand ends to pick up the batch of bars from theassembly chains 112 to move the bars to a reservoir area D withoutinterferring with bars that may then be located in the grooves on runoffrolls 140.

Conversely, if a batch of bars is resting at the reservoir area D on thelifting chains 122, it is possible by raising sprockets 126 to transferthe bars from reservoir area D to a position over runoff rolls 140without disturbing the batch of bars which are then currently beingassembled on the assembly chains 112. The angles of inclination whichthe upper course of chains 122 may assume under these two conditions ofoperation are indicated by the dot and dash lines 142 and 144.

From the foregoing explanation with respect to the construction of FIG.7, it can be seen that through the use of lifting chains 122 supportedby vertically movable sprockets 124 and 126, it is possible to pick up abatch of bars from the assembly chains 112 and move them to a reservoirarea D without interfering with any bars that may be then in position onthe runoff rolls 140. Conversely, by moving the sprockets 126vertically, bars may be moved from reservoir area D to a position overthe runoff rolls without interferring with any bars then being assembledinto a batch on the assembly chains 112. Finally, it is possible byraising both sprockets 124 and 126 vertically to pick up a batch of barsfrom the assembly chains 112 and move the bars to reservoir area D whilesimultaneously moving a batch of bars that have been resting on chains122 at reservoir area D to a position over'the runoff rolls 140.

It will be understood, of course, that the dogs on assembly chains 112and the dogs on lifting chains 122 will always be in longitudinalalignment when the chains are stationary so that when the bars aretransferred from the assembly chains to the lifting chains, or from thelifting chains to the grooves of the runoff rolls 140, they will alwaysremain in the same spaced parallel relationship which prevailed as thebars were delivered from the carryover racks to the assembly chains 112.

The upper course of chains 122 will be prevented from sagging by meansof a supporting bar 146 carried at its ends by the shafts 128 and 130 orthe bell cranks. The chain and supporting bar arrangement in FIG. 7 issimilar to that illustrated in FIG. 4.

The bell cranks 132 and 134 shown in FIG. 7 used to support and raiseshafts 128 and 130 could also be used as the means for supporting andraising sprockets 34 and 38 and related chains 32 and sprockets 62 and64 and related chains 60 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Modifications and further applications of the invention will now beapparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. Means for delivering a batch of hot rolled bars from carryover racksto grooved runoff rolls, said means comprising a plurality of continuousassembly chains aligned with said racks and movable step by step toreceive successive individual bars from said racks in parallel spacedrelation, means for transferring a batch of bars from said assemblychains to said runoff rolls comprising other continuous lifting chainswhich overlap said assembly chains and extend beyond said runoff rolls,said other chains having their upper courses normally below saidassembly chains and the tops of said runoff rolls, means for raising thelifting chains that overlap said assembly chains to remove a batch ofbars from said assembly chains and to move said bars in the sameparallel spaced relation to a reservoir area between said assemblychains and said runoff rolls, other means for raising the chains thatextend beyond said runoff rolls to a level above the tops of said runoffrolls and to advance said spaced parallel bars from said reservoir areato a position above said runoff rolls and to lower said chains todeposit said bars in the same spaced parallel relation in the grooves ofsaid runoff rolls, and a shear for shearing said bars when deliveredthereto by said runoff rolls.

2. Means for delivering a succession of hot rolled bars from carryoverracks to grooved runoff rolls, said means comprising a plurality ofspaced, parallel, continuous, sprocket carried assembly chains adjacentthe end of said carryover racks, a first set of spaced, parallel,continuous, sprocket carried lifting chains interspersed between saidassembly chains and extending a distance therebeyond, said first set oflifting chains being normally below the level of said assembly chains, asecond set of spaced, parallel, continuous, sprocket carried liftingchains interspersed between said first set of lifting chains andextending a distance therebeyond, said second set of lifting chainsbeing normally above said first set of lifting chains, means forpreventing sagging of the upper course of all said chains, a pluralityof grooved runoff rolls interspersed between and parallel to the saidsecond set of lifting chains, all said chains having uniformly spaceddogs along their lengths, means for advancing said assembly chains intimed relation with said carryover racks to receive successive bars fromsaid carryover racks between said dogs in uniformly spaced parallelrelation, means for counting a succession of bars delivered to saidassembly chains to form a batch of a predetermined number of bars, meansfor temporarily accelerating the movement of said assembly chainswhereby an increased space will be created between the last counted barof said batch of bars delivered by said carryover racks and the firstbar of the next batch of bars to be delivered by said carryover racks tosaid assembly chains at the completion of said accelerated movement,means for raising said first set of lifting chains from their normalposition below the level of said assembly chains and the second set oflifting chains to pick up all of the said batch of counted bars fromsaid assembly chains, means for then advancing said first set of liftingchains with the said batch of counted bars thereon until said batch ofbars are beyond said assembly chains and over said second set of liftingchains, means for then lowering said first set of lifting chains todeposit said batch of counted bars on said second set of lifting chainsin the same uniformly spaced parallel relation, means for raising saidsecond set of lifting chains to a level above said runoff rolls, meansfor advancing said second set of lifting chains until said batch ofcounted bars are over said grooved runoff rolls, means for lowering saidsecond set of lifting chains to deposit said batch of counted anduniformly spaced parallel bars in aligned grooves in said runoff rollsand in the same uniformly spaced parallel relation, a shear locateddownstream in alignment with said runoff rolls and means forsimultaneously rotating said runoff rolls to advance said counted andspaced bars to said shear.

3. The construction set forth in claim 1 and a movable transverselyextending stop adapted to engage and align the leading ends of said barsfor subsequent cutting by said shear, said shear having a blade notchedto match the spacing of said bars on said runoff rolls, means forremoving said stop, means for advancing said bars into alignment withsaid notches and means for actuating said shear to cut said bars.

4. The construction set forth in claim 2, the said means for raising andlowering said first and second sets of lifting chains comprisinghorizontal chain supporting members positioned under the upper coursesof said chains and means for raising and lowering said supportingmembers and the chains thereon.

5. The construction set forth in claim 4, each said chain supportingmember comprising a longitudinal bar and a plurality of rollers betweensaid bar and chain.

6. The construction set forth in claim 4, the said means for raising andlowering each said chain supporting member comprising a fluid operatedbell crank connected to one end of said member to impart upward diagonalmotion and cooperating inclined surfaces at the other end of saidmember.

7. Means for delivering a succession of hot rolled bars from carryoverracks to runoff rolls, said means comprising a plurality of parallelassembly chains, each chain carried by first spaced sprockets, one firstsprocket being .an idler within the confines of the terminal ends ofsaid carryover racks, the other first sprocket being a driving sprocketwhose shaft is located between said carryover racks and said runoffrolls, a plurality of parallel first lifting chains, each of said firstlifting chains carried by second spaced sprockets, one of said secondsprockets being an idler whose shaft is located intermediate the shaftsof said assembly chain sprockets, the other second sprocket being adriving sprocket whose shaft is located between the shaft of the drivingsprocket of said assembly chains and said runoff rolls, a plurality ofparallel second lifting chains, each of said second lifting chainscarried by third spaced sprockets, one of said third sprockets being anidler whose shaft is located intermediate the shafts of the drivingsprocket of said assembly chain and the driving 5 sprocket of said firstlifting chain and the other third sprocket being a driving sprocketwhose shaft is located beyond said runoff rolls, horizontal supportingmembers under the upper courses of all said chains to prevent sagging ofsaid chains between sprockets, dogs on all said chains equally spacedand aligned in the direction of the axes of said hot rolled bars, meansfor advancing the assembly chains at a rate to receive bars from saidcarryover racks between equally spaced dogs, means for lifting the uppercourses of said first lifting chains to remove bars from said assemblychains, means for advancing said bars on said first lifting chains to areservoir position beyond said assembly chains, means for transferringsaid bars from said first lifting chains to said second lifting chainsby relative vertical movement of the upper courses of said first andsecond lifting chains at said reservoir position, and means for liftingthe upper courses of said second lifting chains above the said runoffrolls and then moving said bars on said second lifting chains to aposition above said runoff rolls, said runoff rolls having grooves whichare spaced to correspond to the spacing of the bars separated by saiddogs on said chains, means for lowering said second lifting chains belowthe tops of said runoff rolls to place spaced parallel bars into correspondingly spaced grooves in said runoff rolls, and a shear alignedwith said runoff rolls for shearing said bars when delivered thereto bysaid runoff rolls.

8. The construction set forth in claim 7 and said shear being a notchedshear whose notches match the spacing of the bars in the grooves on saidrunoff rolls.

9. Means for moving hot rolled bars from carryover racks to groovedrunoff rolls in which the bars on leaving said carryover racks areassembled in batches in uniformly spaced parallel relation whichrelation is maintained until the bars of said batch are deposited in thesame spaced relation in grooves on said rolls, said means comprising aplurality of groups of endless transfer chains and runoff rolls, eachgroup comprising first, second and third chains and a related runoffroll, said first and second chains overlapping and said second and thirdchains overlapping and said third chain overlapping said runoff roll,each chain carried by a pair of spaced sprockets, each chain formed oflinks on which are mounted equally spaced dogs, the upper course of eachchain supported by a horizontal member to prevent sagging,interconnected driving means for said sprockets whereby the dogs of allsaid chains are maintained in alignment when said chains are stationary,means for moving the upper course of said first chain away from saidcarryover racks in timed relation to receive in spaced relation betweensaid first chain dogs a predetermined number of hot rolled bars whichcomprise a batch, means for advancing said first chain a limiteddistance to separate the last bar of said batch from the first bar ofthe next batch, means for moving the upper course of said second chainfrom a position below to a position above the upper courses of saidfirst and third chains while said first and second chains are stationaryto transfer said batch of bars from said first chain to said secondchain, means for advancing said batch of bars on said second chain whilein said raised position, means for stopping the advance of said secondchain and lowering the upper course of said second chain to a positionbelow the upper course of said third chain while said third chain isstationary to transfer said batch of bars to said third chain, means forraising the upper course of said third chain while said second chain isstationary to a level above said runoff rolls, and means for advancingsaid third chain with the batch of bars thereon toward said runoff rollsand then lowering the upper course of said third chain to a positionbelow the top of said runoff rolls, whereby said batch of bars initiallyplaced between dogs on said first chain from said carryover racks willbe deposited in the grooves of said runoff rolls in the same spacedparallel relation, and a shear for shearing said bars when deliveredthereto by said runoff rolls.

10. The construction set forth in claim 9, and said shear being anotched shear whose notches match the spacing of the bars in the grooveson said runoff rolls.

11. Means for delivering a succession of hot rolled bars from carryoverracks to a notched shear, said means comprising assembly chains forreceiving bars from said racks, lifting chains for moving said bars awayfrom said assembly chains, means for maintaining said bars in spacedparallel relation while on said chains, a plurality of aligned runoffrolls having circumferential grooves therein which correspond to thespacing of said bars on said chains, means including said lifting chainsfor placing said spaced parallel bars in said aligned grooves in saidrolls, and a notched shear beyond said runoff rolls adapted to receiveand shear said spaced parallel bars.

12. The means set forth in claim 11, and a bar supporting apron formaintaining the direction of travel of each said bar from one roll tothe next.

13. Means for delivering a succession of hot rolled bars from carryoverracks to a notched shear, said means comprising chains for carrying saidbars in spaced parallel relation away from said racks, a plurality ofaligned runoff rolls having aligned circumferential grooves forreceiving a group of said bars and then moving them in an axialdirection and a notched shear aligned with said runoff rolls to receiveand shear said spaced parallel bars.

14. The means set forth in claim 13, and an .apron between each pair ofrolls for supporting and maintaining the direction of travel of eachsaid bar'from one roll to the next.

15. The construction set forth in claim 2 and a movable transverselyextending stop adapted to engage and align the leading ends of said barsfor subsequent cutting by said shear, said shear having a blade notchedto match the spacing of said bars on said runoff rolls, means forremoving said stop, means for advancing said bars into alignment withsaid notches and means for actuating said shear to cut said bars.

16. Means for delivering a batch of hot rolled bars from carryover racksto a shear, said means comprising a shear, assembly chains for receivingbars from said racks, lifting chains for moving said bars away from saidassembly chains, grooved runoff rolls for receiving said bars from saidlifting chains and for delivering said bars to said shear, and apronspositioned between successive runoff rolls to support and guide saidbars as they/move along said rolls to said shear.

1 The construction set forth in claim 16, said aprons having guidesthereon spaced according to the size of the bars passing thereoverthereby to deliver each bar to a groove in the next runoff roll alignedwith the groove in the previous runoff roll in which said bar had beenlocated.

1. Means for delivering a batch of hot rolled bars from carryover racksto grooved runoff rolls, said means comprising a plurality of continuousassembly chains aligned with said racks and movable step by step toreceive successive individual bars from said racks in parallel spacedrelation, means for transferring a batch of bars from said assemblychains to said runoff rolls comprising other continuous lifting chainswhich overlap said assembly chains and extend beyond said runoff rolls,said other chains having their upper courses normally below saidassembly chains and the tops of said runoff rolls, means for raising thelifting chains that overlap said assembly chains to remove a batch ofbars from said assembly chains and to move said bars in the sameparallel spaced relation to a reservoir area between said assemblychains and said runoff rolls, other means for raising the chains thatextend beyond said runoff rolls to a level above the tops of said runoffrolls and to advance said spaced parallel bars from said reservoir areato a position above said runoff rolls and to lower said chains todeposit said bars in the same spaced parallel relation in the grooves ofsaid runoff rolls, and a shear for shearing said bars when deliveredthereto by said runoff rolls.
 2. Means for delivering a succession ofhot rolled bars from carryover racks to grooved runoff rolls, said meanscomprising a plurality of spaced, parallel, continuous, sprocket carriedassembly chains adjacent the end of said carryover racks, a first set ofspaced, parallel, continuous, sprocket carried lifting chainsinterspersed between said assembly chains and extending a distancetherebeyond, said first set of lifting chains being normally below thelevel of said assembly chains, a second set of spaced, parallel,continuous, sprocket carried lifting chains interspersed between saidfirst set of lifting chains and extending a distance therebeyond, saidsecond set of lifting chains being normally above said first set oflifting chains, means for preventing sagging of the upper course of allsaid chains, a plurality of grooved runoff rolls interspersed betweenand parallel to the said second set of lifting chains, all said chainshaving uniformly spaced dogs along their lengths, means for advancingsaid assembly chains in timed relation with said carryover racks toreceive successive bars from said carryover racks between said dogs inuniformly spaced parallel relation, means for counting a succession ofbars delivered to said assembly chains to form a batch of apredetermined number of bars, means for temporarily accelerating themovement of said assembly chains whereby an increased space will becreated between the last counted bar of said batch of bars delivered bysaid carryover racks and the first bar of the next batch of bars to bedelivered by said carryover racks to said assembly chains at thecompletion of said accelerated movement, means for raising said firstset of lifting chains from their normal position below the level of saidassembly chains and the second set of lifting chains to pick up all ofthe said batch of counted bars from said assembly chains, means for thenadvancing said first set of lifting chains with the said batch ofcounted bars thereon until said batch of bars are beyond said assemblychains and over said second set of lifting chains, means for thenlowering said first set of lifting chains to deposit said batch ofcounted bars on said second set of lifting chains in the same uniformlyspaced parallel relation, means for raising said second set of liftingchains to a level above said runoff rolls, means for advancing saidsecond set of lifting chains until said batch of counted bars are oversaid grooved runoff rolls, means for lowering said second set of liftingchains to deposit said batch of counted and uniformly spaced parallelbars in aligned grooves in said runoff rolls and in the same uniformlyspaced parallel relation, a shear located downstream in alignment withsaid runoff rolls and means for simultaneously rotating said runoffrolls to advance said counted and spaced bars to said shear.
 3. Theconstruction set forth in claim 1 and a movable transversely extendingstop adapted to engage and align the leading ends of said bars forsubsequent cutting by said shear, said shear having a blade notched tomatch the spacing of said bars on said runoff rolls, means for removingsaid stop, means for advancing said bars into alignment with saidnotches and means for actuating said shear to cut said bars.
 4. Theconstruction set forth in claim 2, the said means for raising andlowering said first and second sets of lifting chains comprisinghorizontal chain supporting members positioned under the upper coursesof said chains and means for raising and lowering said supportingmembers and the chains thereon.
 5. The construction set forth in claim4, each said chain supporting member comprising a longitudinal bar and aplurality of rollers between said bar and chain.
 6. The construction setforth in claim 4, the said means for raising and lowering each saidchain supporting member comprising a fluid operated bell crank connectedto one end of said member to impart upward diagonal motion andcooperating inclined surfaces at the other end of said member.
 7. Meansfor delivering a succession of hot rolled bars from carryover racks torunoff rolls, said means comprising a plurality of parallel assemblychains, each chain carried by first spaced sprockets, one first sprocketbeing an idler within the confines of the terminal ends of saidcarryover racks, the other first sprocket being a driving sprocket whoseshaft is located between said carryover racks and said runoff rolls, aplurality of parallel first lifting chains, each of said first liftingchains carried by second spaced sprockets, one of said second sprocketsbeing an idler whose shaft is located intermediate the shafts of saidassembly chain sprockets, the other second sprocket being a drivingsprocket whose shaft is located between the shaft of the drivingsprocket of said assembly chains and said runoff rolls, a plurality ofparallel second lifting chains, each of said second lifting chainscarried by third spaced sprockets, one of said third sprockets being anidler whose shaft is located intermediate the shafts of the drivingsprocket of said assembly chain and the driving sprocket of said firstlifting chain and the other third Sprocket being a driving sprocketwhose shaft is located beyond said runoff rolls, horizontal supportingmembers under the upper courses of all said chains to prevent sagging ofsaid chains between sprockets, dogs on all said chains equally spacedand aligned in the direction of the axes of said hot rolled bars, meansfor advancing the assembly chains at a rate to receive bars from saidcarryover racks between equally spaced dogs, means for lifting the uppercourses of said first lifting chains to remove bars from said assemblychains, means for advancing said bars on said first lifting chains to areservoir position beyond said assembly chains, means for transferringsaid bars from said first lifting chains to said second lifting chainsby relative vertical movement of the upper courses of said first andsecond lifting chains at said reservoir position, and means for liftingthe upper courses of said second lifting chains above the said runoffrolls and then moving said bars on said second lifting chains to aposition above said runoff rolls, said runoff rolls having grooves whichare spaced to correspond to the spacing of the bars separated by saiddogs on said chains, means for lowering said second lifting chains belowthe tops of said runoff rolls to place spaced parallel bars intocorrespondingly spaced grooves in said runoff rolls, and a shear alignedwith said runoff rolls for shearing said bars when delivered thereto bysaid runoff rolls.
 8. The construction set forth in claim 7 and saidshear being a notched shear whose notches match the spacing of the barsin the grooves on said runoff rolls.
 9. Means for moving hot rolled barsfrom carryover racks to grooved runoff rolls in which the bars onleaving said carryover racks are assembled in batches in uniformlyspaced parallel relation which relation is maintained until the bars ofsaid batch are deposited in the same spaced relation in grooves on saidrolls, said means comprising a plurality of groups of endless transferchains and runoff rolls, each group comprising first, second and thirdchains and a related runoff roll, said first and second chainsoverlapping and said second and third chains overlapping and said thirdchain overlapping said runoff roll, each chain carried by a pair ofspaced sprockets, each chain formed of links on which are mountedequally spaced dogs, the upper course of each chain supported by ahorizontal member to prevent sagging, interconnected driving means forsaid sprockets whereby the dogs of all said chains are maintained inalignment when said chains are stationary, means for moving the uppercourse of said first chain away from said carryover racks in timedrelation to receive in spaced relation between said first chain dogs apredetermined number of hot rolled bars which comprise a batch, meansfor advancing said first chain a limited distance to separate the lastbar of said batch from the first bar of the next batch, means for movingthe upper course of said second chain from a position below to aposition above the upper courses of said first and third chains whilesaid first and second chains are stationary to transfer said batch ofbars from said first chain to said second chain, means for advancingsaid batch of bars on said second chain while in said raised position,means for stopping the advance of said second chain and lowering theupper course of said second chain to a position below the upper courseof said third chain while said third chain is stationary to transfersaid batch of bars to said third chain, means for raising the uppercourse of said third chain while said second chain is stationary to alevel above said runoff rolls, and means for advancing said third chainwith the batch of bars thereon toward said runoff rolls and thenlowering the upper course of said third chain to a position below thetop of said runoff rolls, whereby said batch of bars initially placedbetween dogs on said first chain from said carryover racks will bedeposited in the grooves of said runoff rolls in the same spacedparallel relation, and a shear for shearing said bars when deliveredthereto by said runoff rolls.
 10. The construction set forth in claim 9,and said shear being a notched shear whose notches match the spacing ofthe bars in the grooves on said runoff rolls.
 11. Means for delivering asuccession of hot rolled bars from carryover racks to a notched shear,said means comprising assembly chains for receiving bars from saidracks, lifting chains for moving said bars away from said assemblychains, means for maintaining said bars in spaced parallel relationwhile on said chains, a plurality of aligned runoff rolls havingcircumferential grooves therein which correspond to the spacing of saidbars on said chains, means including said lifting chains for placingsaid spaced parallel bars in said aligned grooves in said rolls, and anotched shear beyond said runoff rolls adapted to receive and shear saidspaced parallel bars.
 12. The means set forth in claim 11, and a barsupporting apron for maintaining the direction of travel of each saidbar from one roll to the next.
 13. Means for delivering a succession ofhot rolled bars from carryover racks to a notched shear, said meanscomprising chains for carrying said bars in spaced parallel relationaway from said racks, a plurality of aligned runoff rolls having alignedcircumferential grooves for receiving a group of said bars and thenmoving them in an axial direction and a notched shear aligned with saidrunoff rolls to receive and shear said spaced parallel bars.
 14. Themeans set forth in claim 13, and an apron between each pair of rolls forsupporting and maintaining the direction of travel of each said bar fromone roll to the next.
 15. The construction set forth in claim 2 and amovable transversely extending stop adapted to engage and align theleading ends of said bars for subsequent cutting by said shear, saidshear having a blade notched to match the spacing of said bars on saidrunoff rolls, means for removing said stop, means for advancing saidbars into alignment with said notches and means for actuating said shearto cut said bars.
 16. Means for delivering a batch of hot rolled barsfrom carryover racks to a shear, said means comprising a shear, assemblychains for receiving bars from said racks, lifting chains for movingsaid bars away from said assembly chains, grooved runoff rolls forreceiving said bars from said lifting chains and for delivering saidbars to said shear, and aprons positioned between successive runoffrolls to support and guide said bars as they move along said rolls tosaid shear.
 17. The construction set forth in claim 16, said apronshaving guides thereon spaced according to the size of the bars passingthereover thereby to deliver each bar to a groove in the next runoffroll aligned with the groove in the previous runoff roll in which saidbar had been located.